Asian Travel guide, Travel guide, Luxury Hotel

Halong Bay Vietnam

Halong Bay lies in the Gulf of Tonkin to the east of Hanoi. It consists of some 3000 tiny islands which together form a dramatic limestone seascape which is without a doubt Vietnam’s most natural wonder. If you’re in Hanoi then you simply MUST ensure that you find time for an overnight visit to this UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Legend has it that Halong Bay was created when a dragon that lived in the mountains ran to the sea its mighty tail gouged out valleys and crevasses, the areas dug up by its tail became filled with water leaving only the high land visible. Geologists on the other hand blame wind and sea erosion! Visitors who were previously in Thailand will notice a close similarity with the limestone scenery around Krabi on the south west coast.

Halong Bay Tours from Hanoi

From Hanoi there are many operators offering tours to Halong Bay. Some of these are full day excursions returning to Hanoi the same night. Considering it’s a 3½ hour drive this hardly seems worthwhile. A far better option is to take an overnight or preferably a two night stay with overnight accommodation onboard one of the many vessels touring the islands.

The weather can be quite changeable in this area. Visitors between February and April might not get to appreciate the beauty of the area as a result of cool, drizzly conditions which create a low fog and poor visibility. During summer on the other hand the danger of tropical storms may force boat operators to vary their schedules. We visited in early December and saw low clouds ahead of us as we approached but by the time we left the shore this had cleared and we enjoyed glorious blue skies and stunning scenery throughout our time onboard a Chinese junk called the Dragon’s Pearl.

It’s well worth paying more than the minimum for these tours as there is quite a range of quality of boats taking passengers around Halong Bay. We heard horror stories of people who couldn’t sleep at night because of rats running inside the walls of their ship. For this reason we selected a tour with Handspan Adventure Travel (80 Ma May, Hanoi). The price was $77 US per person travelling on a small and very comfortable minibus with an excellent guide to Halong Bay where we boarded the Dragon’s Pearl for a one night cruise around the islands. The whole trip was first class and we cannot recommend them highly enough.

Halong Bay Sightseeing and Activities

The main attraction of Halong Bay is the stunning limestone karsk scenery. The moment you’re ship sets sail you’ll be snapping away with your camera but don’t worry there’s no rush as the scenery just gets better and better.

Besides the magnificent views, visitors come to explore the caves in the region which can only be accessed from the charter boats. The Handspan Tour included a visit to Hang Sung Sot cave which has three beautiful chambers of stunning rock formations including a famous fertility symbol.

Cat Ba National Park is another attraction where you can go hiking or simply sunbathing on the beaches. You won’t find sandy beaches within Halong Bay itself but there are some small sandy strips on Cat Ba Island and in Lan Ha Bay which is just off the island.

The organised tours will normally stop in a safe place for you to have a swim but watch out for the current which we found very strong. Also if you take a two night stay onboard a ship you’ll be able to take a kayak and explore a number of grottoes. Some Hanoi companies offer tailor made kayaking holidays through Halong Bay with the option of overnight camping.

Once routinely criticised for being dull, Singapore has reinvented itself as one of Southeast Asia’s most modern and dynamic cities. Melding together a mass of different cultures, cuisines and architectural styles, the city-state is now studded with vast new showpiece constructions to complement its colonial-era hotels and civic buildings. Cutting-edge tourist developments continue to spring up. Shopping avenues and underground malls throb with life, as do the food courts, the riverside bars and the temple-dotted outlying neighbourhoods. It’s never going to be Bangkok, but it’s doing a fantastic job of being Singapore.

Chinese, Indian, Malay and European influences all flow through daily life here. Boring? Hardly. It’s true to say, however, that the former British trading post and colony still has a reputation for its cleanliness (it’s still panned for its seemingly petty regulations, such as the banning of chewing gum). Likewise, levels of serious crime are very low. It’s worth pointing out, too, that Singapore’s cultural mix has left it with a genuinely world-class food scene – and you won’t need to spend big to eat well.

Recent years have seen the city really pushing for recognition as an international tourist destination in its own right, rather than as a convenient stopover. Significant investment has resulted in developments such as Marina Bay Sands, the three-towered skyscraper that now stands as Singapore’s centrepiece; Resorts World Sentosa, which is home to a Universal Studios theme park; and Gardens by the Bay, a remarkable project complete with “supertrees” and two colossal plant domes.

More traditional attractions include the designer malls of Orchard Road, the exotic clatter of Chinatown and Little India and the elegance of Raffles Hotel, still standing proud more than 125 years after being built. On the subject of hotels, Singapore now offers one of the best spreads of high-end accommodation in the region: a sign, amongst other things, of its ambition to keep visitors flooding in. It’s likely to succeed.

Da Nang is a familiar place in travelling ‘ s notebook of many visistors all corners of the earth. Recall Da Nang, it is not only a beautiful city with bluce see and yellow sunshine, but also a place combine of famous scenices.

One of the most special places in Da nang is HoanKem Da Dung. Locate d in a favourableposition , the attractive of Hon kem Da Dung is combined of picturesque scenery and wild original of many standing bulkily in the way ‘s cliffes.From Da Nang about 100 Km to the west , HoanKem is a naturally border between Que Son district and HiepDuc district of Quang Nam province, where it hides beside Thu Bon river.

A nice view of HoanKem Da Dung ( collacted image)

Down to a small boat, starting a journey to discover HoanKem Da Dung, the visistors will be surprised by fervid beauty of Chinese ink picture. In the early morning, when rayes of light start to flash, the surface of water reflects glittering white, dissolves in rippling waves. The new day restart with dip net, fishing boat. The fishing trade has appeared here since the period started a difficult work. The people of fishing village has closely bounded to river for a long time, work hard and unrewardinglyin river watering place. A whole day bobs in water waves, the visistorshave just sensitized all of simle casual views of a fishing village along the river. Sunset, when streak of sunny stretches away on standing bulkily in the way’s cliffes is at the time HoanKemdisplayes its charms. No coincidence that people get attached to the name” Da Dung” in the “ HonKem d Dung”. The four sides are great effort moutains, the visitors on boat pass across here has felling lost in the wild of vast heaven. Thu Bon river bendes over the mountains, has been blocked by HoanKem Da Dung. The ranges of mountains like a wall obscures vision lead to HoanKemseperates from outside space. Therefore, HoanKem brings a contemplative mysterious view. Behind the cliff, we can only see few houses and mulberry farms crouch in gloaming. On moonlit nights, outstrips real life, HoanKemdraps over lonely and quite. Visistors seem to sink in infinitum space of highland. Go to HoanKem Da Dung, everyone will feel serenity and peace.

HoanKem Da Dung ( collected image)

HoanKem is known not only ainfriguing place but also a place where keeps many of traces of the primitive sanctuary. On the rockes project at the edge of a cliff, the acient inscription of Sa Huynh- Champa’s culture still not fade. The people oftens put sacrificial offerings on he rocks to express sincerely reverlent and hope that the Divine will safe their life.Hoankem always contains memories af a faraway like that.

Through dow and up periods, HoanKem Da Dung still intact the inherent simplicity, where The people’ s life has dissolved in flow of gentle Thu Bon river. The visistors come to HoanKem Da Dung do not forget retain for them the pleposition of emotion with the simplicity and wild of landscape.

List of Top 10 Hotels in Phnom Penh, Cambodia

1. Raffles Hotel Le Royal:

Raffles Hotel Le Royal photos

Raffles Hotel Le Royal Built in 1929, located in the heart of the city Phnom Penh, has 195 Rooms, 4 Floors and there are Health Club , Health Club, Business Center, Car Rental , Babysitting or Child Care, Currency Exchange,…Amenities hotel: Mini-Bar, Coffee Maker, Air Conditioning, …
Rating: 5.0 Stars.
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Khao Phing Kan or Ko Khao Phing Kan is the common name of two adjacent islands lying on the west coast of Thai Lan country, in Phang Nga Bay, under green of Andaman ocean. This destination not only is famous for stunning beauty but also refer to as “James Bond Island” because of associated with this famous movie.

In ThaiLan language, Khao Phing Kan means “dense mountain” which set to say the natural topography of two islands.

In 1974, James Bond film seek new destinations for the handsome spy who has luxury life. Finally, Khao Phing Kan had been chosen and the scenes in the film The man with the golden gun which was opened for people who enjoyed the film the concepting about tourist paradise in Southeast Asia.

After appearing in the movie, the citizens and visitors more become acquainting and enjoyed with name “ James Bond Island” than original name of island and gradually fogot it.

Khao Phing Kan or Ko Khao Phing Kan is the common name of two adjacent islands lying on the west coast of Thai Lan country, in Phang Nga Bay, under green of Andaman ocean. This destination not only is famous for stunning beauty but also refer to as “James Bond Island” because of associated with this famous movie.

In ThaiLan language, Khao Phing Kan means “dense mountain” which set to say the natural topography of two islands.

In 1974, James Bond film seek new destinations for the handsome spy who has luxury life. Finally, Khao Phing Kan had been chosen and the scenes in the film The man with the golden gun which was opened for people who enjoyed the film the concepting about tourist paradise in Southeast Asia.

After appearing in the movie, the citizens and visitors more become acquainting and enjoyed with name “ James Bond Island” than original name of island and gradually fogot it.

The best Top 10 Hotels in Shanghai, China from atravelhotel.com1. Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai: Built in 1998, has 606 Rooms, 27 Floors; Business Center, Currency Exchange, Parking Area Well Lit,… Prices from $400/night

Hyatt Regency Tokyo – This luxury hotel is located in the heart of Tokyo, steps from Shinjuku Central Park, located in the heart of West Shinjuku, a major commercial and administrative centre,… Ideal for business and leisure travellers it is only nine minutes’ walk to Shinjuku Station, home to upscale department stores, specialist electronic and camera shops, cinemas, restaurants and bars.